


your every breath is a blessing

by funsizedshaw



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, happy ending I promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-04-20 22:51:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4805138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funsizedshaw/pseuds/funsizedshaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shaw is trying to heal in the aftermath of being rescued from Samaritan and Root is trying to help her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably will be two or three chapters long. Next chapter will be up very soon. 
> 
> Un beta-ed.

They don’t talk about it. Shaw doesn’t talk at all. She doesn’t smile, doesn’t glare, doesn’t give anything more than an emotionless stare. Root has never hated silence more. 

 

They sleep side by side, never touching. Root stares at the ceiling long after Shaw’s breaths have evened out, counting each one and thinking about the pastor in Bishop’s church all those years ago telling her to count her blessings. 

 

During the day, Shaw sits on the windowsill, staring at the sky. Root wonders if she’s searching for answers in the vast sea of blue. She wants to tell her that she has tried, that millions before them have tried and that there is nothing up there but emptiness. She tries not to hope for a day when Shaw will look at her like she is a part of the answer. She tries not to fall apart. 

 

Root doesn’t cook or clean but she orders takeout and lays Shaw’s clothes out for her in the mornings and this is as close to domesticity as they’ll ever get. 

 

The first time she hears Shaw speak again, she has fallen asleep on the couch while Root is sitting at the table and fiddling with her laptop. She’s at her side instantly, leaning over her and ignoring the way her heart clenches at the sight of Shaw mumbling in distress, her fists clenched tight. Shaw's hand flies to Root’s throat half a second before her eyes open and as if in reverse, Root is taken back to one afternoon a lifetime ago. Shaw’s hand relaxes and drops to her side before the memory is fully formed and Root swallows the sob that threatens to rip its way out. Shaw opens her mouth as if to say something but decides against it and she sits heavily back down onto the couch, taking deep breaths. 

 

Root can’t decide if she should talk to Shaw or sit beside her or just pretend that nothing happened. Instead, she goes to take a shower. She comes back to Shaw sitting at the windowsill again. She sighs and is about to call for pizza when she hears the low gravelly voice. It’s barely there and it’s scratchy from disuse but it’s there and Root feels her heart jump to her throat.

 

“I thought she was you. Martine dyed her hair brown and, I was so drugged that I thought she was you,” she pauses and coughs from the effort of using her voice after so long. 

 

For a brief second, Root is torn between getting her water and not wanting to ruin the moment by moving. Shaw’s back is to her and Root's not sure she even knows that she’s standing there. Her concern wins out and she walks to the kitchen to fill up a glass. When she comes back, Shaw isn’t looking out at the sky anymore. She watches as Root walks towards her and passes her the glass silently. Root feels her skin burn from the direct eye contact and tries not to remember that the last time those brown eyes had locked onto hers, Shaw had kissed her and then went down in a hail of bullets. 

 

“I killed her. Martine.” 

 

She thinks she sees a ghost of a smile on Shaw’s face. 

 

“I thought so,” she turns back to stare at the sky and her shoulders sag slightly as if the brief conversation had worn her out. 

 

Root walks away from the window and doesn’t know if the whispered “thank you” is a figment of her imagination or not. That night, Shaw’s hand inches towards hers in the dark and stops a hair’s breadth away. Root dares not wish for more. She dreams of blood stained kisses and careful fingers and wakes to an empty bed. 

 

She rushes out of the room and finds Shaw standing at the kitchen counter for the first time since they’d brought her back. She’s holding a glass of milk in her hand and looks up as she hears Root. Her eyebrows raise minutely and her voice holds a slight disdain as she mutters, “Soy? Not you too.” 

 

Root almost laughs with relief that floods her veins. “This is all they had. I’ll buy you real cow’s milk next time.” She suppresses the urge to kiss away the white moustache above Shaw’s lips. Instead, she walks to where her phone is charging by the wall and tilts her head at Shaw questioningly. “Chinese or Mexican?” 

 

They’ve finished lunch and Root is scrunching up wrappers and wiping guacamole stains from the table before Shaw speaks again. 

 

“Can I see Bear?” 

 

Root's heart clenches painfully at the hesitancy in her voice. She doesn’t ask why it’s phrased as a request rather than a demand. She thinks she already knows the answer. 

 

“Sure sweetie. Of course you can,” her voice wavers slightly as the term of endearment slips from between her lips before she can catch it. 

 

“I just. I know I was violent when you first found me and Reese and Finch haven’t called or visited so I didn’t know if they-“ Shaw cuts herself off as if she’s spoken too much and clamps her jaw tight. 

 

Root swears she would go to the ends of the universe to make sure that that flicker of self-loathing in Shaw’s eyes never appears again.

 

“They just didn’t want to smother you, but they’ve been messaging every other day to check how you’re doing,” she swallows in an effort to keep the tears pricking her eyes from falling. “Bear can’t read texts though, so I’m sure he will be very happy to see you.” 

 

Shaw’s lips twitch slightly and she nods. “Call them over?” 

 

When Root calls, she asks Reese and Finch to bring over a steak dinner as well.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for Bear and Shaw fluff in the next chapter! And of course, more Shoot fluff and angst.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took so long, i know. i apologise. i hit a wall and stewed on the characterisation for ages. but here it is, finally. 
> 
> shaw + bear fluff as promised. and shoot fluff too.

Shaw crouches in her hiding place, a slight furrow appearing on her forehead as she concentrates on her target. She picks up her weapon of choice, then aims it perfectly and hits her target dead on.

Root yelps and jumps, turning around to look for Shaw. She spots her coming out from behind a large tree, a smug grin on her face.

“Sameen!”

Shaw just grins wider, and bends down to pick up another snowball to throw at Root.

Root immediately ducks to pick up a ball of snow and lobs it neatly at Shaw with almost inhuman accuracy. Shaw frowns when it hits her square in the chest.

“Using the Machine is cheating!”

Root smirks and throws another snowball at her in answer.

Bear suddenly bounds up from behind Root and rubs his nose against her legs, whining. She coos and bends down to pet him.

Next thing she knows, Shaw’s on her, stuffing snow down the back of her coat. Root squeals and turns around, narrowing her eyes at Shaw’s smirk.

“And using Bear is totally fair?”

Shaw pets Bear and affectionately scratches behind his ears. She grins at Root.

“I didn’t tell him to distract you. He did that all on his own,” she turns back to Bear. “Good boy, Bear.”

Root shakes her head, a smile playing on her face.

“Well now my shirt’s all wet,” she stands up and brushes snow off her knees. “The two of you keep playing, I’ll go get changed.”

Shaw nods and turns back to follow Bear, pulling her coat tighter around her and adjusting her beanie.

Root goes back inside, smiling at the sight of Shaw all wrapped up and red nosed from the cold. She pushes aside the worry of letting Shaw out of her sight and assures herself that the Machine has got an eye on things. As if in answer, She chirps in her ear, letting Root know that she’s spotted nothing out of the ordinary within a 6 block radius.

Root peeks back out through the window and smiles as she sees Shaw crouching down to pet Bear. He licks the side of Shaw’s face and Shaw scrunches up her nose but doesn’t move away. She cups his face with both her hands and scratches behind his ears as she places a soft kiss on his wet nose. Root feels her heart soar at the sight and quickly ducks away as Shaw glances up to their apartment window.

A few minutes later, Root steps out and calls out to Shaw and Bear. “Kids! Come in!”

Shaw throws a last snowball at Bear and he jumps gracefully in the air to try and catch it. She chuckles and calls out to him and they both make their way inside.

Shaw makes a beeline for the big steaming mug of hot chocolate that Root’s set out on the kitchen counter and sighs happily as she drinks it. Bear has already taken large gulps from his water bowl and is eagerly eating the treats Root left out for him.

Root gets a rag to wipe up the trail of rapidly melting snow they brought in while Shaw takes off her coat and beanie and hangs them up. She grabs the mug and takes it to the couch, walking stiffly and sinking down onto the cushions with a groan.

Root frowns. “Sameen? You alright?”

Shaw grunts. “Yea. Just stiff joints from the cold. Sammy wasn’t that big on aftercare. Some parts didn’t heal properly.”

She watches Root carefully out of the corner of her eye. It’s the first time she’s directly referenced the torture she went through while being held by Samaritan. Root, to her credit, only clenches her jaw for a moment before she nods. Then lets out a snort.

“Sammy? You nicknamed an evil AI?”

Shaw grins. “Seemed to annoy it.”

Root chuckles and shakes her head. “Sammy sounds nicer on you.”

Shaw narrows her eyes. “No. You have enough nicknames for me.”

Root pouts. Shaw shakes her head and turns away to drain her mug. She sets it on the ground beside her, then turns and stretches out her legs along the length of the couch. She sighs as the movement eases the ache in her knees and ribs and relaxes onto the soft leather. Bear trots over and puts his chin on her belly. Shaw ruffles his fur, making him wag his tail and close his eyes.

Root smiles at the sight. Having Bear over was working wonders for Shaw’s recovery. It had only been a couple of days, but she’d started talking and joking more. She’d even cooked for them last night, and coerced Root into doing the dishes with those puppy eyes. Shaw’s, not Bear’s. Root figured it was only a matter of time before Shaw started working out, and wanting to get back into the field. With Samaritan gone, they’d all gone back to saving numbers, but even that would be more fun for Shaw than sitting around doing nothing at home.

Root frowns as she thinks about Shaw’s aching joints. She’d never complained about that before. It seemed like being out in the freezing cold for so long had made them worse. Root was pretty sure Shaw would never have mentioned it or shown any outward signs of discomfort if it was just a mild ache.

The Machine whispers something in her ear and Root smiles. She whispers a thank you to Her and pads off to the bathroom.

Root draws up a hot bath, and drops a few large scoops of salts into the water. She tests the temperature as the water runs and hums when it feels just right. She places a few towels near the bath and goes back to the living room. Shaw’s lazily scratching Bear behind the ears as he lies on the ground beside the couch.

“Sweetie, would you like to take a bath? It will help with your muscle aches.”

Shaw raises an eyebrow. She gets off the couch slowly, gritting her teeth as her muscles protest against the movement. She looks over at Root, whose expression is laced with worry.

Shaw shakes her head, a hint of fondness grazing her features. “It’s not that bad. I think it’s just the snow that made it worse. A bath sounds good though.”

Root smiles. “Come on. The water’s getting cold.”

Shaw nods and gingerly walks over to the bathroom. Root follows her and hovers in the doorway, overcome with sudden nervousness.

“Do you- I mean…Sorry, I’ll go.“

Shaw sighs.

“Root. You’ve seen me naked before. It’s fine. I just…have a few extra scars now. If you don’t want to see that, I get it. But if you want to stay and join me, which I know you want to, I’m okay with that.”

Root shuffles awkwardly. She knew that it’d come to this sooner or later. But there’s no time for her to waste pondering. Shaw’s gripping the wall tightly, clearly affected by the soreness in her joints and uncomfortable with standing for so long. Root sucks in a breath and takes two strides into the large bathroom.

“Alright Sameen.”

Shaw quickly and methodically strips. Root follows suit, and tries not to let her emotions show as she catalogues each and every one of Shaw’s scars. Shaw slips into the bath and sinks down into the hot water gratefully. The heat seeps into her muscles and soothes the aches, making her sigh contentedly. She scoots forward, and looks up at Root expectantly. Root hesitantly gets in, slipping her legs on either side of Shaw’s body and spooning her from behind.

Shaw immediately leans back against her, letting Root’s breasts press against her back. Root nearly stops breathing when she feels the weight of Shaw’s body rest against hers and almost leans back away from her. It’s the most physical contact she’s had with Shaw since they'd gotten her back and Root just wants to hold her tight and breathe in the smell of her hair and feel the warmth of her body and-

“Root. I can hear you thinking. Stop that and just hold me already,” she turns around and waggles her eyebrows at Root before adding, “you know you want to.”

Root lets out a soft laugh. “Okay, Sweetie.”

She wraps her arms around Shaw’s waist and pulls her closer. Shaw leans back against Root and lets her head rest on Root’s shoulder, closing her eyes.

Root looks down at her and the overwhelming feeling of what seems like a tidal wave of emotions crashes over her.

“Sam?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I…Is it okay if I kiss your forehead?”

Shaw chuckles quietly without opening her eyes. “Yea, sure Root.”

Root takes a few breaths then tilts her head down to give Shaw a soft kiss on her forehead. She lingers for longer than necessary, closing her eyes and just feeling the softness and warmth of Shaw’s skin against her lips. Root’s breathing slows down to match Shaw’s as her worry and tension melts away. The Machine’s looking out for them, Bear is napping peacefully outside, and after months of agony, her Sameen is finally safe and sound in her arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one more chapter to go.
> 
> let me know what you think, im not too sure this chapter flows well from the previous one. 
> 
> thanks for reading!


End file.
